Maya is a healthy baby growing up with fresh juice, coconut ingredients, organic farm products, coffee beans and wine. The little restaurant is featured in a purely white and blue Mediterranean tone with some colorful exotic decorations. Two intelligent ladies behind this great idea are, actually fashion designer and business-owner, meanwhile they are bringing the Mediterranean cuisine (South France, Italy, Spain) and Indian spices by their knowledge of where they come from.
The restaurant is more like a combination of daytime-cafe and nighttime-bistro, serving a rich collection of light dishes and drinks. Maya runs from the early breakfast till late dinner in the famous but quiet area of Wanchai (Star/Moon Street), and differs largely from the nearby restaurants by their dining concept.
Their Raw Food
With a nickname of 'Live Food', is a healthy dining concept for food processing and preparing. All the foods, fresh vegetables, fruits and grains are considered in large, are prepared through the complicated processing steps (generally takes 4-8 hours) in the purpose of preserving the original nutrition without down-grade the taste. By selecting the right grains for raw dishes, they are, most of the time, feed you well with even a small potion.
They're Organic
Maya tries best to have their raw materials organic. Their brown and red rice is supplied by a small organic grain farm in Philippine; their coffee beans are organic from Rwanda; some of their wines are made of organic grapes in European countries.
They're for Gluten-free, Vegetarian
Their menu is the most impressive one I have never seen in Hong Kong, in terms of, those three labels. I think it is quite important for a small but growing group of people living in Hong Kong.
Hangover Express (Fresh Juice)
*** Drink (Juice) ***
Following the healthy and fresh lifestyle concept, my eyes cannot take off from their Fresh Juice menu with a list of interesting names to be explored carefully. Each juicy contains at least 3-4 fresh herbs and fruits, and there are such a rich supplement that even with the function description, I cannot make my mind.
Hangover Express is absolutely in the Green category, with spinach, celery, cucumber, broccoli, apple and lemon. This is a super juicy, rich in vitamin A & C, magnesium, potassium, folic acid and selenium. It can be an anytime drink throughout the day, with a fresh nutrition snack.
*** Appetizer ***
Multigrain Bread with Sesame Sauce
A solid, semi-humid, raw bread made with several grains, and if you chew and feel it carefully in your mouth, you can feel some little sunflower seeds mixed. The taste is made by a Mediterranean recipe with some spices and herbs.
Potato Croquettes with Raw Ketchup
Smashed potato with corns, carrots and peas, the croquette is slightly fried to be light in taste with some salt as flavoring. The homemade raw ketchup is made of fresh tomato, sundried tomato and spices; it impressed me a lot. The flavoring function is more than enough than the artificial ketchup which is full of sugar, salt and artificial additions. Plus, it tastes more natural in its sweetness, sourness and freshness.
Hummous
Popular dish in Middle Eastern cuisine and North Africa, it is normally with chickpeas while this one is prepared as raw food concept and chickpeas is taken out for a lighter feature. It is simply blended with black sesame, olive oil and flavored with salt, there is a strong raw and levantine food flavor which is not familiar to Hongkongers. Healthy cracker and carrot stick is served as side dishes.
*** Soup ***
Zucchini Soup (Green Soup)
One page of Maya's regular menu is in the way of colorful blocks. They are red, green, purple, yellow, orange and others, each of which represents a combination of paired vegetables and fruits and is followed by matched functions. The Daily soup is served as this color spectrum, and at the first day I visited Maya, I was offered with Green Soup as the daily soup in the Dining City Restaurant Week Menu.
The Green Soup is actually made from zucchini. The soup is served in a home-made style which is plain in looking, but rich in flavor.
*** Main Course ***
Simmered vegetable stew with red or brown rice (Mediterranean Entree of the Day, GF or V)
A small production of organic brown and red rice from Philippine, the long-shape rice has not the strong water-absorbing capability, and with the mixed brown rice, the chewing experience is quite rich with a combination of softness and hardness. Zucchini and chickpea are two main materials with the tomato ingredients, overall tastes slightly salt and sour.
*** Dessert ***
No cream, No Butter, Gluten-Free Sweets
Chia Pudding, GF or V
Chia contains high protein and rich in omega-3. They import Chia seeds from South Africa, and mixed with coconut cream, mixed berries, brown sugar to make this cute pudding cup. The dessert has such a impressive coconut aroma, meantime, keeps natural sweetness. The texture is quite thick because of the physical reaction between chia seeds and water, while it maintains its smoothness. It is one of the most popular dessert of Maya, and I promise you won't be disappointed by it.
Chocolate Mousses, GF or V
Taking out dairy cream and butter, the chocolate mousse is given a new texture, which is drier and my tongue can feel more powder from it. However, the combination of chocolate and coconut, is perfect. It reduces the bitterness of coco but not add too much sweetness, and nourished so well by the healthy coconut ingredients.
Organic Coffee beans from Rwanda
Selected white/red/rose from France, Spain and Australia and some of them are organic labeled. Besides, they still have some beer and ciders on the list to make the selection richer. Recently, they start Happy Hour with a free canapes station full of cheeses, olives, tomatoes and healthy raw snacks. The owner wants to keep Happy Hour last till late night, even during the dinner, however the point is to create a casual bistro atmosphere for all comings.
* Happy Hour available from 4pm till late everyday
Free healthy and raw appetizers of hummous, mini greek salad, sundried tomato dip, organice kalamata olives and cheese platter, upon purchase of (organic) wine
* Lunch Set Menu
Also Dining City Restaurant Week Menu I chose that noon
Appetizer - Soup of the Day (V)...
Main Course - Mediterranean Entree of the Day (GF, V)...
Sweet Ending - Chocolate Mousses (GF, V)...
Tea or Coffee
$148 + 10% service charge per head
Other information:
Brunch available from 11am to 11pm in weekends, priced at $268 before service charge. However the rich brunch menu is also offered anytime upon client's request.
G/F, 5 Moon Street
Wanchai
Hong Kong
+852 2529 3319
maya.cafeinhk@hotmail.com
Everyday. 8am - 11pm
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